The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the global motorsports governing body, recently gave its seal of approval to the newest form of racing series this year; the F3 Asian Championship. In this light, Pinnacle Motorsport has confirmed that it will enter the event, following its successful victory during last year’s Formula Masters Series.
In a nutshell, the F3 Asian Championship is a newly-formed single-seater racing series organized by Top Speed and is set to take place in select countries within Asia. It’s essentially a stepping stone for aspiring racers to eventually move up to Formula 2 before finally reaching Formula 1. It will be the proving ground for teams and drivers to improve on performance, safety, and cost control, 3 of the many disciplines required to move up to more challenging levels of racing.
As required by the FIA for an even playing field, all participating teams will use race cars with Tatuus-built chassis. In addition, all machines will feature enhanced safety equipment such as wheel tethers, retractable seats, and halo devices similar to what Formula 1 race cars have. Finally, FIA requires that all machines will run with an Autotecnica 270 hp 4-cylinder turbocharged engine with a 6-speed paddle shift transmission.
With that being said, Pinnacle Motorsport also confirmed that it will enter the series with 3 cars. Although it has yet to announce its official drivers line up. It will be supported by its sponsors Cebu Pacific Air and Teng Tools.
The first ever F3 Asian Championship race calendar is as follows. Do note that the list below is provisional, meaning it would probably be altered before or during the racing season.
- Round 1 / July 13-15 (Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia)
- Round 2 / August 31-September 2 (Ningbo International Speedway, China)
- Round 3 / September 21-23 (Shanghai International Circuit, China)
- Round 4 / October 12-14 (Ningbo International Speedway, China)
Round 5 / November 23-25 (Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia)
